Farmers demanding proper review into backpacker tax

Australian farmers heavily reliant on backpacker labour are asking for an in-depth examination into the controversial ‘backpacker tax’ as a Federal Government review into the tax begins this week.

Originally set to be introduced during the 2016 federal election campaign, the proposed legislation, which increases the tax take by removing the tax-free threshold for non-resident taxpayers, was put on hold with the Federal government saying it wanted to conduct a review into the tax which was opposed by crop growers.

The delay in introducing the tax was criticised as an attempt by the Liberal party to win votes.

Those against the tax believe it will drive the overseas fruit pickers away as they will have to pay tax on any amount of money they earn.

AUSVEG, the national body representing Australia’s 9,000 vegetable growers, is calling for the Federal Government to listen to the concerns of every industry reliant on overseas workers.

“We’re pleased that the Government has finally commenced this review, and we hope that they listen to the concerns of every industry that relies on this critical labour source over the coming weeks,” said Brooke-Barnett, a spokesperson for AUSVEG.

“It would be incredibly disappointing to see Australia’s growers suffer as a result of a short-sighted policy decision that failed to acknowledge the flow-on effects of having backpackers live and work in regional Australia,” Brooke-Barnett said.

The Australian Fruit Picking Industry

Since 2009, the Seasonal Workers Programs has been in operation within Australia to help address issues of farmers not being able to find seasonal fruit pickers. The program encouragers overseas workers to come to Australia by giving them the opportunity to earn money picking fruit.

According to the National Farmers’ Federation, as of May 2015, almost 3,500 seasonal workers had been placed in horticultural jobs in 50 different government areas.

Despite the reliance on overseas fruit pickers, over the past several years, a number of cases of mistreatment of overseas fruit pickers have been reported.